This is a 2-part program, Sundays, Feb 8 and 15, 2026 at 6:30 pm (Eastern) via Zoom

Lynn M. Paltrow, JD, founder of Pregnancy Justice (formerly National Advocates for Pregnant Women), is a graduate of Cornell University and New York University School of Law. She has worked on numerous cases challenging restrictions on the right to choose abortion as well as cases opposing the prosecution and punishment of pregnant women seeking to continue their pregnancies to term.

Ms. Paltrow has served as a senior staff attorney at the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, as a founding attorney and Director of Special Litigation at the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy (now the Center for Reproductive Rights), and as Vice President for Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood of New York City.

Ms. Paltrow conceived of and filed the first affirmative federal civil rights challenge to a hospital policy of searching pregnant women for evidence of drug use and turning that information over to the police. In the case of Ferguson et. al., v. City of Charleston et. al., the United States Supreme Court agreed that such a policy violates the 4th amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Through her work as a national litigator and strategist in cases involving the intersection of the war on reproductive freedom and the war on drugs, Ms. Paltrow recognized the need for a shift in the reproductive rights paradigm – away from divisive (and inaccurate) “pro-choice” and “anti-choice” categorizations and toward a set of inclusive, positive reproductive and family justice values around which a broad base of allies can mobilize.

Ms. Paltrow is the recipient of numerous fellowships and award and is a frequent guest lecturer and writer for popular press, law reviews, and peer-reviewed journals. She is a proud member of The Beacon Executive Team.

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"Lessons for Our Time" classes and conversations are offered by The Beacon, an affiliated program of 501c3 Union Theological Seminary, with a growing cadre of Community Partners including The Interfaith Center of NY, NY Jewish Agenda (NYJA), T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, and like-minded faith-based and justice-driven organizations.

Reproductive Rights & Resistance

By The Beacon

Reproductive Rights & Resistance

LESSONS for OUR TIME